Inhospitable
by Nelowl
Summary: This is a Carsoncentric story written for Mare as part of the SaveCarsonBeckett campaign. Carson, Rodney and Caldwell find themselves stranded on a planet whose people have some very strange ideas on dealing with illness and injury.
1. Chapter 1

Carson didn't like the period immediately after Christmas. He'd never liked it. He always felt faintly depressed, usually without any reason to feel that way. As a child, he thought it was because of the big let down after Christmas. All the presents had been opened, all the parties enjoyed, and now all he had left to look forward to was going back to school.

However, as a young adult, he found that this time of year still make him feel blue. He thought it might be the horrible weather. There was rain, and wind, and snow, and that was just on the good days.

But even now, he still found that he felt the same way, even on Atlantis. He couldn't exactly blame the weather now, could he? Maybe it was just that he enjoyed Christmas so much that he felt let down after it was all over. He still enjoyed Christmas, even through an adult's eyes. In fact, he often reverted back to childhood, reliving traditions he had enjoyed as a boy.

He loved putting up decorations, singing carols, buying presents. It was more of a challenge now he was on Atlantis. Present-buying necessitated a lot of planning, devious plots and the odd bit of bribery. But it was still great fun. He hadn't been sure, there first Christmas on Atlantis, what it would be like. There were so many races, so many cultures, split between two galaxies; he just didn't know how his Christmas would be. But it had been fun. And it continued to be fun.

He smiled as he remembered trying to explain to Ronon all about Christmas. The big Satedan had accepted the bit about the baby Jesus, the shepherds and the wisemen, but when Carson had started to explain about Santa Claus and Rudolf, well that had just been too much for the big man. He had left Carson standing, walking away muttering about these strange people from another galaxy. John and Elizabeth had just stood there, laughing.

Carson smiled as he remembered the occasion, then sighed as he returned to the report he was writing. Things were strangely quiet on Atlantis at the moment. John, Teyla and Ronon were on a visit to the Athosians, helping them with a building project. Rodney and Radek were involved in trying to optimize the use of the ZPMs, and Elizabeth, well, she was just "leading".

Picking up the mug of tea at his right hand, he took a sip and tried to concentrate on his report. It was one part of his job that Carson didn't really like, writing reports. He knew they were necessary and he would hound his staff to make sure they filed their reports quickly, but he hated doing them himself. He much preferred dealing with a real patient, or doing some research in his lab.

Sighing, he let his fingers hover over the keyboard, ready to get back to his typing. He was rescued, however, by a voice in his ear.

"Carson," Elizabeth said. "Could you join me in my office."

"Right away," he said, the eagerness evident in his voice.

When he arrived at Elizabeth's office, the sight that greeted him also surprised him. Sitting across the desk from Elizabeth was an obviously reluctant Rodney and standing behind him was Colonel Caldwell.

"Elizabeth, Rodney, Colonel," Carson said by way of greeting, and then sat in the free chair beside Rodney.

"Thank you for joining me, gentlemen," Elizabeth said, including them all in her smile. "We received a distress call today from a group calling themselves the Batak."

"Have you encountered them before?" Caldwell asked, looking at the others.

Both Carson and Rodney shook their heads. It was Elizabeth who responded.

"We've not encountered them personally, but I spoke to Halling, and the Athosians have traded with them before. However, a religious sect started to exert an influence on the Batak and they stopped trading."

"What is the problem they are having? Is it still related to the sect?" Carson asked, a worried frown on his face.

"No, not as far as we can tell. From what we can gather, they seem to have some kind of accident involving their Gate." Elizabeth replied. "There has been an explosion and people are injured."

"You don't sound too certain, Dr Weir," Colonel Caldwell said.

"The message we received was kind of garbled," Elizabeth replied. "Whatever caused the explosion seemed to be interfering with the transmission. But we do know that the Gate was damaged and they are concerned there might be more explosions. They are also reporting a considerable number of injuries. They asked for our help both in dealing with the problem with the Gate and the casualties."

"Well, that explains why Carson and I are here," Rodney said. "But what about him?" He nodded towards Colonel Caldwell, who simply raised his eyebrows in response.

Elizabeth smiled. "The damage to the Gate is too extensive for us to use it," she explained. "And Colonel Caldwell has kindly agreed to take you and your teams to the planet."

"Are we sure we can trust them?" Rodney asked. For a moment Elizabeth wondered if he meant Colonel Caldwell, but then she realised that Rodney meant the Batak.

"As certain as we ever are," she replied. "Halling says they used to be very reliable, but since the sect took control, they have had some strange ideas."

"Just what we need!" Rodney exclaimed. "More voodoo and weird worshippers."

"They seem not to be a violent people, Elizabeth continued. "Quite the opposite, in fact. But we don't want to take any chances."

"And that's where I come in," Caldwell said.

"Yes," Rodney replied. "And another thing, we really need, the heavy mob."

"Rodney," Elizabeth said, narrowing her eyes. "Be nice."

"Did they say what the nature of the medical problems was?" Carson asked.

"Mostly burns," Elizabeth replied. "But they weren't too specific about them."

Carson nodded. "I'll go and get what I need. I'll include general emergency equipment as well as burns treatments." He paused before he left the room. "When do you want to leave, Colonel?"

"As soon as possible," Caldwell replied. "Novak and Hermiod are running through last minute checks as we speak, so the Daedalus will be ready when you are, Dr Beckett."

"And now I feel so much safer," Rodney added, as he left along with Carson.

oOoOoOo

It took a while to load up all the items they thought they might need. Because the Batak people had been so vague in their call for help, Carson wanted to be ready for any eventuality.

"Carson," Rodney said, when he saw all the things the physician was taking with him. "Have you left anything in the Infirmary? Like the odd painkiller, and maybe a syringe or two?"

Carson glanced up at his friend. "Aye, Rodney," he replied. "I think I left a kitchen sink behind, now that you mention it."

"Very funny," Rodney replied as he checked through his own supplies.

"Are you ready, gentlemen?" Caldwell asked, as he and Elizabeth approached the two doctors.

"We will be once Carson gets his kitchen sink," Rodney replied.

Not surprisingly, both Caldwell and Elizabeth looked more than slightly confused.

"In joke," Rodney said by way of explanation.

With the help of Atlantis and Daedalus personnel, it didn't take long to stow all the supplies on board the ship. And once both doctors were safely onboard too, the ship left Atlantis.

After the relative freedom of Atlantis, Carson always found the Daedalus slightly claustrophobic. Not claustrophobic in the sense of fearing the confinement in the way that Rodney did, but rather just a few too many people in too small a space. This was especially true when Rodney and Hermiod started on one of their one-up-man-ship competitions. Carson sat with them for a while, before deciding that his sanity was better preserved away from the argument.

On a ship the size of the Daedalus, it wasn't easy to find a quiet spot. But eventually, Carson found a small hideaway where he could sit quietly with his thoughts. It wasn't often he had the chance to sit quietly and contemplate. On Atlantis he was on call virtually 24/7. In theory, he did have time off, but those hours were few and far between, and were generally interrupted by some emergency or other. He didn't really mind; he liked to be kept busy. If he wanted an easy life, he wouldn't have come on the expedition. But just sometimes it was nice to be able to enjoy his own company.

He sat with his cup of tea and just let his mind wander. In the background, he could hear the muffled sounds of activity. He heard a voice raised in anger, berating something or someone. He couldn't hear the words exactly, just the tone. The voice was answered by another, soothing in tone, obviously trying to keep the peace. An argument in a confined space like the Daedalus wouldn't be a good thing, he supposed.

With the last of his tea drunk, Carson was just about to leave when he heard a loud sneeze behind him.

"Bless you," he said, turning to see who belonged to the sneeze. It was Colonel Caldwell.

"Sorry to disturb your peace, Doctor," he said, before blowing his nose loudly.

"Do you want me to give you something for that cold?" Carson asked.

"No, thanks," Caldwell replied. "It's just a regular cold, doing the rounds. One of the crew picked it up on the last trip back to Earth and it's been circulating ever since. I was just saying how grateful I was not to get it, and then I started sneezing."

Carson smiled. "Colds tend to have a habit of doing that," he agreed. "Wait until you think you're immune, and then jumping up and attacking you. Just let me know if you feel worse, and I'll see what I've got to help."

"Thanks, Doctor," Caldwell replied.

"Please, Colonel, call me Carson," the Scot continued. "I always feel as if I'm on duty when people call me "Doctor" all the time."

"Thank you, Carson," Caldwell nodded. There was an awkward pause, as the Colonel tried to work out how to phrase his reply. Eventually, he continued. "And if you wish, please call me Steven, but . . ." He trailed off, unsure how to finish.

"It's OK, Steven," Carson replied. "I'll not use your given name when any of your crew is present." Carson gave him an understanding smile.

"Thank you, Carson," Caldwell repeated, returning Carson's smile with a grateful one of his own.

"Now is there anything I can do for you, Steven?" Carson continued.

"I just came to tell you that we will be arriving in around an hour," Caldwell replied.

"Ah, that's good," Carson said, with a smile. "There's only so much of Rodney and Hermiod I can take in any one day."

Caldwell laughed. "That, I can understand." He then turned and left Carson to his musings.


	2. Arrival

The scene that confronted them as they arrived on the planet was one of chaos. The explosion had obviously caused considerable damage, not just to their Stargate but also to the surrounding structures.

It was unusual to find a built up area around the Gate in the Pegasus Galaxy. The threat from the Wraith usually meant the Gate was in an isolated area, far away from the general populous, to give them a chance to escape their feeding frenzy.

The Batak obviously were not used to dealing with emergencies. They were in complete disarray. People were running around in circles, literally in some cases. Rodney and Carson exchanged anxious glances. This sort of chaos would make their work more difficult.

Only Carson, Rodney and Caldwell, plus two security guards actually went to the planet's surface, in deference to the Batak's unease with strangers. In the turmoil, it took a few minutes before anyone noticed the arrival of the five men. It was one small boy who first spotted them. His eyes grew very big in his face as he spotted these strangely dressed men, carrying weapons. He surveyed them for a moment, before running away to find someone to tell. A few minutes later he returned, a man in tow.

The man approached them with caution. "Are you from Atlantis?" he asked, his eyes wary.

"Yes," Caldwell confirmed, taking a step forward. "I'm Colonel Caldwell, and this is Dr McKay, and this is Dr Beckett."

"We're here to help you," Carson added, smiling at the man in a reassuring manner.

There was an answering smile, but it didn't quite reach the man's eyes. In fact, his eyes were cold and almost lifeless. Without even introducing himself, he raised his hand and snapped his fingers. Two young women appeared at this signal.

"Take the engineer to the Ring, and the doctor to the injured," the man ordered.

"I am Tala," one of the women said, bowing. "If the engineer would follow me, please." Without waiting for a reply, she turned and left in the direction of the 'Gate. Rodney shot a look over at Carson, who just nodded his encouragement. Grabbing his equipment, Rodney hurried after the woman. One of the security guards followed, carrying more of the equipment

"I'm not an engineer," Rodney said as they almost ran towards the 'Gate. "I'm a scientist, I have . . . ."

His voice disappeared into the distance, but Carson had a fairly good idea that the blonde woman was currently being given a detailed rundown of all Rodney's qualifications. Not that they would mean anything to her, of course.

"And you must be my guide," Carson said smiling at the remaining woman.

"I will take you to the injured," she replied. Carson was beginning to wonder if these people ever gave a straight reply to anything. But he followed her towards a tented area that appeared to be a makeshift hospital. The other security guard followed Carson, leaving Caldwell with their rather reluctant welcomer.

The next few hours passed in a blur of activity for Carson. He wasn't sure why, but the whole situation reminded him of his time spent in the Accident and Emergency unit during his training. He felt as if he was working blind; he didn't know where things were; he didn't know the staff; he didn't know the patients. He was transported back to Glasgow on a cold winter's Saturday night, when too much alcohol and not enough brains had left many a young lad with a few extra bruises. But at least now he knew about medicine. Then he still felt there was more that he didn't know, and the little he did know was dangerous.

It wasn't long before his medical expertise and people skills had the disparate group of people working together far more smoothly, and his patients were benefiting from it.

Most of the injuries were consistent with the explosion that had very obviously hit the area. Even to Carson's untrained eye, the evidence was there that a large explosion had occurred. There was debris lying around that had been thrown out by the blast. There was a large crater in the ground, just to the right of the Gate, and the Gate itself stood, or rather leaned, at a very peculiar angle.

When Carson had last seen Rodney, he was standing looking at the Gate, unconsciously standing at the same askew angle as the object he was regarding. But the Scot only had time to smile at his friend's fascination with the Gate, before he was thrown into the melee of the emergency area that the Batak had established to deal with the wounded, and, unfortunately, the dead and dying.

It was one thing Carson could never get used to, and that was loosing a patient. He never wanted to get used to it. He felt he would become a poorer physician if he accepted the loss of a patient without putting up as much of a fight as was humanly possible. Even then, if he did all he could, and his patient still died, Carson still felt the unbearable weight of the loss. He would go back over his actions, to see if he could have done anything different, anything better, anything that could have saved a life.

In this instance, there were many already dead even before he arrived and others whose only consolation would be that their last hours were relatively pain free. However, there were very many who could still be helped, and it was on them that Carson focussed.

As always, when engrossed in his work, Carson didn't realise just how quickly the time was passing. He focussed completely on his patients, taking as long as each needed, before moving onto the next one. It was actually a rumble in his stomach that made him realise that he'd been working for so long. He stopped for a moment, trying to remember the last time he had eaten.

Glancing at his watch, he realised it had been over eight hours. No wonder he was hungry. He looked around, trying to find Rodney in the chaos that still inhabited the area. The security guards had returned to speak to Caldwell several hours before. The last time he'd seen the scientist he'd been talking to a group of men over by the Gate. But that had been a couple of hours ago. As Carson continued to survey the area, Rodney suddenly appeared from a tent about 200 yards to Carson's right, and hurried over to the Scot.

"I need something to eat, before I collapse," Rodney said, by way of greeting.

"Before you faint?" Carson said, with a mischievous grin on his face.

Rodney's response was to give Carson a withering look, before heading off towards where they'd last seen Caldwell and the small ship that they'd arrived in.

Rodney spent the whole of their journey explaining, in minute detail, what he had done to repair the Gate. Carson switched off, letting his friend's words roll over his head. He knew he wouldn't understand half of what the scientist was saying, so he didn't try too hard.

As they walked, Carson let his gaze wander round the landscape through which they were travelling. It was a strange, almost eerie land, with black, black soil and tall, spindly plants. It almost looked as if the plants were trying to get away from the strange soil. There were no ground-covering vegetation at all, as far as Carson could see. He'd asked some of the people he had been working with why the soil was like that, and they'd just shrugged. Apparently, it had always been like that.

Carson was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't notice at first that Rodney had come to a complete stand-still. Taking evasive action at the last minute to avoid bumping into his friend, Carson turned to see what caused Rodney's reaction.

"Where's the ship gone?" Rodney asked, staring at the spot where they'd last seen the ship that had brought them down to the planet's surface.

Carson was unable to give him an answer and simply stood at his side, gazing at the vacant space.

"I see you've noticed that your vehicle has gone," said a voice behind them. Turning together, almost as if choreographed, the two men faced the man they had first encountered when they arrived on the planet. He didn't seem any friendlier this time round.

"Your military man had to return to the ship," the Batak explained. "There was some kind of emergency that required his attention, back on your planet. He said he would return for you when he was able."

"But . . ." Rodney started to say, before Carson jumped in with an interruption.

"Thank you for letting us know," he said smoothly. "Is there somewhere that we can go to eat? Or to rest?"

"Silva will take you there," the man said, indicating a young woman who seemed to materialise out of thin air.

As they followed the woman, it was obvious that Rodney was bursting to speak, but Carson had managed to silence him with a pleading look. However, the Scot knew that Rodney would only manage to stay silent for a limited time, and Carson just hoped that they would arrive at their destination before the scientist exploded with words. Luckily for both men, the walk to the rooms laid aside for them only took a few minutes.

As soon as Silva took her leave, Rodney rounded on Carson.

"What's your problem?" he demanded. "What's with all this shushing? Can't you see there's something weird happening here? Caldwell would never just go off on a ship without telling us. And if there was such an emergency back on Atlantis, they'd want us both back there before they wanted Caldwell there."

"Rodney, calm down a minute, before you burst a blood vessel," Carson said, pointedly.

"I don't want to calm down," Rodney replied, slightly petulantly. "I want to know what is happening."

"So do I," Carson replied. "And I agree with you. There's something not right with this planet, and it's not just disappearing ships that make me think that."

"So why didn't you let me challenge our gracious host?"

"Because," Carson replied, trying to keep his voice calm. "Our gracious host is probably in this up to his armpits. Whatever happened to Colonel Caldwell and the ship probably happened on his orders. There is something very strange about this planet and its people and I think we should think before we do anything that might upset them, at least until we can work out a way of escaping."

"What do you mean 'strange'?" Rodney asked, a note of panic creeping into his voice.

"I don't know exactly," Carson said thoughtfully. "It's nothing specific, but just everything in general," he continued. "For example, they don't seem to have any proper doctors."

"Only improper ones?" Rodney said, with a sly look at his friend. Carson gave him a look but otherwise chose to ignore him.

"They have 'healers'," Carson responded. "But they seem just to react to the medical conditions. They have no preventative medicines. It's seems strange in such an advanced place, to have so little real medical progress."

"There scientists are useless too," Rodney said, pausing for a moment. "But that's not uncommon here in Pegasus."

"Especially compared to one Rodney McKay?" Carson teased, gently.

"So what do we do meantime?" Rodney asked, ignoring Carson's last remark.

"Eating would be a good place to start," Carson replied, gesturing towards the food laid out in front of them. "I don't know about you, Rodney, but I'm starving."


	3. Sinful Illness

John was easing out the kinks in his shoulders as he entered Elizabeth's office.

"I see they worked you hard," she said, giving him a grin.

"Nothing I can't handle," he replied, returning her grin. "Have you seen Rodney and Carson? We were due to meet up for some small fire-arms training."

"They are on a mercy mission of their own," Elizabeth replied.

John's eyebrows shot up at that. "Do you mean you let those two out without supervision? Have you any idea what chaos they can cause when you put them together. Spontaneous combustion has nothing on them."

Elizabeth laughed. "I decided that the Pegasus galaxy wasn't ready for the Carson and Rodney double act, just yet. Colonel Caldwell and the whole crew of the Daedalus accompanied them."

"That's just about enough people to keep them out of trouble," John agreed, with a grin.

"If they are that bad," Elizabeth continued, returning his grin. "How do you cope with Rodney on missions with just the four of you?"

"I get Ronon to sit on him," John replied, keeping a straight face.

"The most alarming thing about that remark," Elizabeth replied, "is that I can almost believe you do."

John turned to leave, still grinning, and almost barrelled into Chuck, the Gate Technician, who was moving at speed in the opposite direction. It was obvious from the look on the other man's face, and his general haste, that that there was something wrong. John stopped to listen.

"We've just had a communication from the Daedalus," he told Elizabeth. "Drs McKay and Beckett went to the surface about 8 hours ago along with Colonel Caldwell and two security guards."

"So far so good," John interjected. Elizabeth shot him a quelling glance.

"Then about 4 hours ago the security guards returned to the ship," Chuck continued, almost stumbling over his words in his haste to explain the situation. "They said the leader of the Batak had said they were to return to the ship to pick up more supplies. But when they got there, they found that the crew of the Daedalus knew nothing about it. When they then tried to contact the planet, they found that all communications had been cut off."

"And the two doctors and Colonel Caldwell are still on the planet?" Elizabeth asked.

"As far as we know," Chuck replied. "The Daedalus has been unable to get in contact with them. They seem to have some kind of jamming device."

"Can't they just take the jumper back down to the planet?" John asked.

"The jumper has developed a fault," Chuck said. His tone of voice, rather than his words, suggested that the fault might have been "encouraged" by those on the planet.

"Does the planet have a Stargate?" John asked.

"It was destroyed in the explosion," Chuck explained.

John looked slightly confused.

"There was an explosion that damaged the Gate and injured many people," Elizabeth explained. "That's why they asked for our help."

"Is there a Gate nearby?" John asked.

"Dr Zelenka is looking into it now?" Chuck replied.

Just at that moment, Radek came hurtling into the room, his hair all but standing on end.

"Radek," Elizabeth said by way of greeting. "How is your search progressing?"

"I have narrowed it down to just 150 co-ordinates that we hold on the database," he said. "But now we need to establish which of those Gates is nearest to the Batak's planet."

"Thank you, Radek," Elizabeth said. "Please keep trying."

"Of course," the Czech scientist said, still distracted, and almost ran out of the room again.

oOoOoOo

The pain was excruciating as every bone in his body seemed to ache. He couldn't remember where the pain came from. He couldn't even remember where he was. He let his senses reach out into the darkness. It was cold and damp; in fact, he couldn't stop shivering it was so cold. The cold and damp seemed to pervade his body, increasing the ache.

Against his back, he could feel the hard, unyielding surface of rock, digging into his ribs and rubbing at his heels. He tried to move his arms, but they were bound with damp rope that bit into his wrists. A drip of stagnant water fell onto his face, and rolled down his cheek until it dribbled onto his ear.

Caldwell felt absolutely miserable. So miserable it took a further moment for him to focus on the nagging worry in the back of his mind. He knew it didn't relate to his physical condition. It was focussed on someone else. Then he remembered. Beckett and McKay. The two doctors were still on this godforsaken planet as well. And if he was out of action, who would protect them now?

oOoOoOo

Carson and Rodney ate until they had satisfied their hunger. The food was surprisingly good, even if Rodney had the occasional panic attack when he thought he detected a hint of citrus in almost every dish.

The feeling of unease that Carson felt, however, didn't go away with the departing hunger pangs. There was something not right about this place, something more substantial than his usual fear of leaving Atlantis.

Just as he settled back in the sofa on which he was lying, ready to contemplate this further, one of his helpers from earlier rushed into the room.

"Dr Beckett," the young girl said, her voice laden with anxiety. "Please come now! It's Rasik, he seems worse."

Carson wracked his brains to try to remember who Rasik was. If the girl had described his symptoms, he would remember him instantly. But the names had all begun to fade into each other as the day had progressed. Still, he didn't really care which of his patients it was that needed him. The fact that one of them did was enough to get him moving.

"I'll head back to the 'Gate," Rodney said, getting to his feet at the same time as Carson, and the two men followed the girl out of the room.

As soon as Carson saw Rasik, he remembered him. He was an older man, well older for this planet, where the average age seemed to be somewhere in the mid-twenties. What had struck Carson earlier was that the man seemed ill, rather than injured. He had arrived with the other injured people, but although he had some wounds from the explosion, they had been, at worst, superficial. The man's wounds might have been superficial, but his condition didn't match them. He appeared much more seriously ill than the wounds suggested.

Carson methodically examined the man again. His condition had deteriorated considerably from his first examination of him. Rasik's breathing was laboured and yet shallow; his temperature was dangerously high, and his pulse weak and erratic.

Carson searched through his bags until he found what he was looking for. It seemed to Carson that the man had some kind of infection, and it had probably started to take a hold before the explosion.

He set up an IV line so he could get antibiotics into the man as quickly and as efficiently as possible. Once everything was in place, he turned to his patient, ready to put the line into the man's arm.

"Stop!" an authoritative voice echoed loudly round the room.

Carson turned to see the man who had first 'welcomed' them to the planet coming striding towards him. The doctor had discovered his name was Valuk

"You cannot do that," he said, nodding towards the IV line Carson was holding.

"I'm sorry," Carson said looking rather puzzled. "But if I don't get antibiotics into this man straight away, he's going to die. He's got rather a rampant infection, and he needs a wee bit of help in combating it."

"It is not allowed," Valuk said.

"Excuse me?" Carson said, a puzzled frown on his face.

"This man is ill," the leader said. "He is not injured. It is our practice to treat those who are injured, but not those who are ill."

"I don't understand," Carson said, still unsure exactly what was going on. "I can cure this man. He is very ill, but he stands a good chance if I treat him."

"No," the other man said. "You clearly do not understand, doctor. We believe that those who are ill, but who show no outward sign of injury are being punished by the gods. We do not treat them. Their care is in the hands of the gods. If he should die," he continued, nodding towards the patient. "Then it is the gods' will that he should die. You must not treat him, doctor, or you dishonour our gods, and us."

Carson regarded Valuk for a moment, weighing up the options. For an instant, he considered defying the leader, but those thoughts were quickly dispelled when two burley men entered the room at the signal of the Batak leader.

"These men," Valuk said, indicating the new arrivals, "will ensure that you do nothing to ease this man's plight."

"This is barbaric," Carson said, unable to remain silent any longer. "Why won't you let me save this man?"

"His illness is a punishment of the gods. His sin has made him ill. We cannot allow you to interfere with the gods' punishment."

With those words, Valuk turned on his heels and left a dejected Carson with his two intimidating wardens.


	4. Punishment

John was with Elizabeth when Radek burst into her office. The Czech looked as if he had been running his hands through his hair constantly since they'd last seen him. It was now standing on end, and his glasses were slightly askew, adding to the mad professor look.

Elizabeth and John shared a glance of gentle amusement.

"How are you getting on, Radek?" Elizabeth asked, as the scientist continued to look slightly out of focus.

"Oh," he said, as if recalling why he was there, "we have found several 'Gates that are within a day's journey of the Batak's planet, but so far none of them have been usable."

"Have we heard from the Daedalus?" John asked.

"The jumper was deliberately sabotaged," Radek confirmed, an almost puzzled frown on his face. "And it was not very subtle."

"So they don't mind us knowing about it," Elizabeth mused. "Have they been able to contact the surface yet?"

"No," Radek confirmed. "There seems to be some kind of interference, making communication impossible."

"Keep us informed, Radek," Elizabeth said, with a smile.

The scientist nodded and hurried back to his work.

oOoOoOo

Rodney found Carson sitting by his patient's bed.

"You look awful," he said to his friend, without preamble.

"Thank you, Rodney," Carson replied. "That makes me feel much better."

"He looks even worse," Rodney continued, nodding towards Carson's patient.

"Aye, poor bugger," Carson replied. "He is. And they won't let me help him any further."

"What do you mean?" Rodney asked.

"They spouted some stuff about illness being a punishment from the gods, and set these two goons to watch me," Carson said, indicating the two figures lurking in the shadows.

"Come and get something to eat, Carson," Rodney suggested. "I'm starving again."

Carson glanced at this watch, amazed to see how much time had passed since they had eaten before. But despite the length of time, he wasn't hungry. He couldn't eat while his patient was just slipping away from him.

"No, Rodney," Carson replied, with a gentle smile. "You go and eat, I want to stay here for a wee while longer."

As Rodney left, he failed to notice another figure lurking in the shadows, watching the scene. The figure lingered for a moment and then left too, fading into the shadows that seemed to inhabit the place.

oOoOoOo

"What did you find?" the man's voice demanded.

"Give him a chance to get his breath back," the woman at his side admonished.

"That's Cela," the newcomer said, grinning at the woman. It was the young man who had been watching Carson and Rodney.

Cela smiled back, and turned back to the group of people, gathered in front of her. It was a disparate group, of all ages, sizes, and social groups.

"So we must act," she said, as if continuing a speech. "The Wise Ones are getting too powerful. They now refuse us treatment when we are ill, and claim they are doing the work of the gods."

"Why do so many believe they are right?" a woman's voice asked from the right.

"They use the words of the gods to say what they want them to say," the first man said, his voice still fierce. "They take the words in isolation and use them to convince the people."

"I bet it would be a different story if one of them got ill," a small man at the front of the crowd said. There were many nods from those standing around him.

"Did they cause the explosion?" a woman's voice from the back of the crowd asked.

"We believe they did, inadvertently," Cela replied. "From our sources, they seemed to have been experimenting with some kind of weapon, it malfunctioned and the explosion occurred."

"Trust them to do something like that," a large, rough looking man said.

"Aye," his friend, standing next to him, replied. "They're always looking at new ways to get us to do what they want."

"And what about the people from the stars?" the first man asked. "Did they come to help them with the weapon?"

Cela turned to the new arrival. "Finin, you tell us what you've discovered?"

Finin climbed onto the stage at the front of the gathering. He was a tall, slim young man, very normal in looks, very ordinary, very easy to over-look. That was why he was perfect for the task he undertook. He gathered information.

"The newcomers from the stars did come at the invitation of the Wise Ones," he said, looking out over the group, not appearing at all nervous. His voice was steady as he continued. "They are fearful that they have damaged the Ring beyond repair, and they need it for their plans."

"What are their plans?" the man beside him asked.

"That, I can't tell, Buldur," Finin replied. "They are very secretive about them. They seem to have 'friends' who come through the Ring and who would be angry with them if they can't use the Ring."

"What about the newcomers," a voice from the back asked. "Are they in league with the Wise Ones?"

"I don't think so," Finin replied, choosing his words carefully. "From what I saw, they are angry that the Wise Ones have cut them off from their Ship in the Sky."

Cela nodded. "I heard that they seemed uncertain of the things the Wise Ones were telling them."

"And the Healer," Finin continued. "He is not at all happy that the Wise Ones will not let him heal his patient."

"So they don't believe in illness being the punishment from the gods?" Cela asked.

Finin shook his head. "No," he replied. "In fact, Valuk has set two guards on him to prevent him from taking any action."

"Does he know what punishment he will suffer if his patient dies?" Cela asked.

"I don't think so," Finin replied. "And the Engineer seems unhappy too."

"What about the third man?" Buldur asked.

"He has vanished," Finin replied. "I believe he was ill, and has been taking to the Place of Waiting."

"Do his friends know about this?" Buldur asked.

"I believe not," Finin said. "They believe he has returned to his Ship in the Sky."

"Do you think it is possible to get them to help us?" Buldur asked.

"It might," Finin said, slightly hesitantly. "Especially if they know what the Healer will need to endure if his patient dies."

"Let's speak to them," Cela suggested. "We do not need to let them see us, just let them hear our words."

"But what good could they do?" a voice from the crowd asked. "They are only three men."

"But they have a Ship in the Sky," Buldur pointed out. "And from what we have been told, there are many others like them where they came from."

"How does the meeting decide?" Cela asked, turning to the crowd. "Do you wish us to speak to these men or not?"

A general murmuring could be heard as the crowd discussed, amongst themselves, the choice they had been given.

"Who says 'Yay'?" Cela asked, and a sea of hands appeared before her.

"Who says 'Nay'?" Cela asked again, and a number of hands appeared.

"Thank you for your decision," she said, smiling at the crowd. "We will speak to the strangers, and let you know the outcome."

oOoOoOo

It was one of the hardest things that Carson had ever done, to sit and watch this man die, when he knew he could save him. He'd had a taste of this agony when Charin had refused his help, and he had watched her fade away. But that had been Charin's choice, a decision she made based on the facts that she had before her. But this poor man hadn't had a choice. He'd been condemned by the beliefs of his people. Although Carson tried his best to respect the beliefs of others, he found this one particularly hard to bear.

A noise from his patient drew Carson's attention back to the bed. The man was gasping, his breathing even more laboured than before. For a moment, the man opened his eyes and gazed up at Carson, acknowledging his presence in the last moments of life. Then the man's eyes closed for the final time, and his laboured breathing ceased. Carson checked the man's pulse, but he knew that he wouldn't find one. Sighing sadly, the physician lifted the sheet and pulled it over the man's face.

Standing up, Carson gave his patient one last look before he turned to leave. However, his path was blocked by the two men who had been watching over him.

"He's dead now," Carson said, unable to keep the bitterness out of his voice. "Surely you're satisfied with that."

"Not quite, Doctor," Valuk said, appearing out of the shadows. "You see, when a patient dies of an illness, it is not just the patient whose sins are exposed. The healer who tended him must also face the consequences."

A very real fear leaped into Carson's breast. Just what were they going to do to him?

"Take him away," Valuk ordered the two men. Before Carson could protest, one of the men stepped forward, and rammed a needle into his arm. As the room started to swirl around him, the Scot wondered just what his Mum would say if she could see him now.


	5. Where's Carson?

He woke lazily, hardly returning to consciousness at all. For a moment, he even had to think about who he was. Then he remembered his name. Steven Caldwell. That's who he was. For another moment, he tried to work out where he was. His memory returned slowly. He was on a strange planet, and now he was being held somewhere. For some reason, that fact didn't bother him as much as it should have. In fact, it didn't bother him at all. He knew he should be fighting against this, but somehow, it didn't matter enough to him to fight. And even when he remembered that Carson and Rodney were left defenceless, well, that didn't bother him too much either.

"Strange," he thought to himself, or maybe he said it out loud. "I feel as if I'm floating in a sea of peace. Nothing much bothers me. Nice."

"He's awake," a voice from the door said.

"Better give him some more Pacifier, before he starts thinking too much,"

"Too much," Caldwell echoed, his voice sounding slurred and strange. It made him giggle.

Somewhere at the back of his mind, he realised that this wasn't the way he usually behaved. But before that thought could fight its way to the front of his consciousness, he felt a cool spray, followed by a sharp pinprick on his arm.

Puzzled, he look down at his arm, and saw a hand holding a piece of cloth to it. Caldwell looked up at the owner of that hand. It was a young woman. She smiled gently at him. He tried to return the smile, but sleepiness started to take control of him, and he found his eyes closing even before the smile had quite reached his lips.

oOoOoOo

Rodney stretched and yawned. It had been a long day, and he was ready for some sleep. Carson was still sitting with his patient, and all the Batak people who had been helping him repair the 'Gate had gone to their beds. Rodney thought of checking up on Carson one last time, but he found it difficult to see the pain in his friend's eyes as he was forced to watch a man die.

He wondered at first why he felt so tired, then when he glanced at his watch, he realised exactly why. He had been awake for 36 hours solid. Yawning, he now felt completely justified in snuggling down on the comfortable bed the Batak had provided.

Rodney was in a deep, satisfying sleep when something started to niggle at the edge of his awareness. He tried to ignore it, but it wouldn't go away. It was like a fly buzzing round his dreams.

Eventually, he opened his eyes groggily. He couldn't see anything as the room was completely dark. He heard a noise, a shuffle of feet, in the corner.

"Carson?" he said. "Is that you?"

There was no reply.

"Carson," he repeated, more firmly this time, although he had to try hard to avoid letting his voice crack with fear. "What are you doing?"

"We have come to give you information, Engineer," a strange voice said.

"You're not Carson," Rodney said, sitting up quickly. "Who are you? What do you want? And how did you get into my room?"

"Your friends are in great danger," the disembodied voice continued. "Your Pilot is in the Place of Waiting as we speak, and you may never see him again. Your Healer will pay the price for losing his patient, and he may die too. We can help you save them."

"Why should I believe you?" Rodney asked, stalling for time as he tried to get his head together, get the facts straight, and work out what the hell was going on.

The only answer he received at first was the murmuring of voices, then one of the voices turned and addressed him.

"If you go in search of your friend, the Healer, you will find he has been taken," the voice said. "If you ask why he has been taken, you will be told what we have told you too. He must pay the price for the death of his patient, and he too must be judged by the gods."

"What sort of barbaric place have we come to?" Rodney asked, not really expecting an answer.

"A place we are trying to change," the voice replied, surprising Rodney in more ways than one. "We believe the Wise Ones do not interpret the gods' words accurately, and we are trying to change that."

"Is that why you're telling me all this?" Rodney asked, still suspicious and on guard.

"We do not believe that your friends should suffer because of the beliefs of the Wise Ones," the voice replied.

"And what do you want in return?" Rodney asked.

"Nothing more than you are willing to give," the voice replied cryptically. As soon as the words had been said, Rodney heard the door to his room open, a small shaft of light appear, and a couple of dark figures crept from the room.

Rodney jumped up ready to follow them, but a glance down at himself quickly changed his mind. He had taken off most of his clothes before he went to bed, and if he left the room in his current state of undress, he might just get arrested, or something. And that "something" could be rather nasty indeed.

By the time Rodney had made himself presentable, his visitors had long gone, and the corridor, in fact the whole complex, seemed uninhabited. It gave the place an almost ghostly atmosphere. He headed towards the Healing area where he'd last seen Carson, deciding that was the surest way to verify what his visitors had told him.

Just as he was about to enter the room where Carson had been, one of the Batak appeared out of the shadows, and stopped him.

"I cannot allow you to enter," the young man said.

"But I have to see my friend, Dr Beckett," Rodney said, his voice edged with irritation, and also some fear.

"The Healer is no longer here," the man replied. "And the priests are praying for Rasik, that his sin will not condemn his soul to eternal death."

"And where is Dr Beckett?" Rodney asked, fear now very obvious in his voice.

"He is in the isolation area, as they believe one of the patients has an infection," the man replied, but there was an uncertainty about his voice, and his eyes refused to meet Rodney's

"Why didn't he tell me first?" Rodney demanded.

"It was an emergency situation, and he could not risk infecting you," the man responded, quickly, perhaps too quickly.

"But . . ." Rodney started. But before he could go any further a call came from the room, and in response, the young man left, without another word.

Rodney stood there, unsure what to do next. He turned in a circle, trying to see just where he should go, but couldn't see any obvious indication of where Carson might be.

"Do you believe us now?" a familiar voice said from the shadows. A young woman appeared in front of him.

"What if what that guy said is true?" he asked abruptly.

"Do you really believe it is?" the woman asked calmly.

"I . . no!" Rodney replied.

"Come with me," the woman said. "I can take you somewhere safer, and we will explain it to you there."

oOoOoOo

"We think this will work," Radek explained, a frown on his face.

"You think?" John said, not liking the uncertainty of his words.

"Do you want me to be like Rodney, and promise you the earth?" Radek said, exasperation very evident in his voice. He'd been up for 48 hours straight, trying to find a solution, and now he was attitude.

"I know you are doing your best, Radek," Elizabeth said in her best, soothing voice. "Tell us what your plans are." She shot John a look, which he returned with a grimace, but he pulled out one of the chairs and slumped down into it, ready to listen.

"First," Radek said, almost sounding as if he was giving a lecture. "We need to get you close enough to the planet, so that you can fly the Jumper down to it."

"And?" John asked, waiting for the punch line.

"This has not been so easy to find," Radek admitted, with a shrug. "Many of the 'Gates in that area have been damaged or even destroyed. It took us a while to find one that was viable."

"But you did?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yes," Radek said, smiling.

"And what's the catch?" John asked. "You didn't sound too sure of yourself earlier."

Radek looked apologetic. "The 'Gate we have found, is a space 'Gate, and the area where it is found is in the middle of a meteor field."

"Nothing dangerous, then," John said, with his usual sarcasm.

"We can help guide you through it, using the sensors," Radek continued, ignoring the sarcasm in much the same way as he ignored Rodney's. "But a lot will be dependent on your skills as a pilot, Colonel."

"Then we've no problem, then," John said with an irrepressible grin. "Okay," he continued, his voice more serious now. "I'll get my team together and we'll meet you in the Jumper Bay in 15 minutes."

Elizabeth nodded.


	6. What sort of barbaric people are you?

Carson opened his eyes, and wanted to shut them again straight away. The sights he could see were worse than anything he'd seen in the lectures on medical ethics he'd endured at University. They'd been designed to show the medical student just how evil man could be. Carson knew he'd crossed a few medical ethical boundaries himself since coming to the Pegasus galaxy. But the sights he could see in front of him, made him feel ill.

Over in the corner, he could a man scream in pain, as the surgeons carried out an operation on him while he was still conscious. Carson struggled against the restraints that held him in place. He should have been focused on his own safety but his survival instincts were overtaken by his need to help others. As he struggled, the only thought in his mind was to help the poor soul in the corner. But before he could do more than chaff his wrists another figure appeared in front of him, blocking the sight of the operation.

The smile on the other man's face was pure evil. Carson felt he was the sort who would enjoy inflicting pain on others. And as if to prove his point, the man turned towards the constrained doctor, a large mallet in his hands.

Carson's eyes opened wide as he realised with horror what was about to happen to him. As the mallet fell on his legs, crushing his knees, he screamed once then the blackness descended and the world whirled into oblivion.

oOoOoOo

As soon as they got to the "safer place", Rodney turned to the woman beside him, and demanded answers.

"Okay," he said. "Tell me exactly what they are going to do to Carson, without all the mumbo jumbo about gods and their judgement."

"How much has Cela told you?" a man, who suddenly appeared out of the shadows, asked.

"How do you do that – "appearing out of the shadows" thing?" Rodney asked, momentarily distracted.

"It's a gift," the other man responded, with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, yes, how much do I know?" Rodney replied, getting back on track. "Very little. Your woman of mystery here seemed to want to keep me in the dark, both literally and figuratively."

"You may wish that you continued to be in the dark," another man replied, cryptically.

"You see," Rodney retorted. "That's the bit I don't like about you people. You always have the 'mysterious' answers. I'm a scientist. I like the logical answers, the straightforward ones. Now tell me plainly, what are they going to do to Carson?"

"They will give him the same conditions his patient suffered," the first man replied.

"Then they will watch him to see if he lives or dies," the other man continued.

"And just what was his patient suffering from?" Rodney asked, not sure if he wanted to hear the answer.

"His knees had been crushed by a rock fall after the explosion," Cela replied. "Then he developed a fever. Your Dr Beckett thought he had some kind of infection."

"So they're going to smash Carson's knees, give him some kind of infection, and then just watch him die. What sort of barbaric people are you?" He echoed the words he'd used earlier.

"We want to help you, Dr McKay," Cela replied. "And we will do all we can to help Dr Beckett, and your Pilot too."

"Caldwell?" Rodney said. "You mentioned him earlier. He's returned to our ship, so why are you so interested in him?"

"That is what they told you," one of the men said.

"We should tell him the truth, Buldur?" Cela replied.

"So just what is the truth?" Rodney demanded.

"He was ill," the other man replied.

"He had a cold, nothing more," Rodney said, trying to keep the panic out of his voice.

"It is an illness, is it not?" Cela asked.

"Yes," Rodney replied. "Just a minor one, unless you're like me, of course, with my allergies and congestive problems, when it can become more of a 'flu, and even a chest infection."

The woman looked at him, puzzled for a moment.

"He just has a minor head cold, dammit," Rodney responded to the look. "What are they doing with him? Letting him starve as they watch him recover?"

"That is possible," Buldur replied. "We believe they have done the like before."

"Then we have to rescue them," Rodney replied. "Surely there is some way into this Place of Waiting, or whatever you called it?"

"It might be possible," Cela said, thoughtfully.

"Surely you're not thinking of risking your life to save one of them?" the third man asked.

"They came to help us, Jarak," Cela replied. "And this is the thanks we give them for their aid."

"I'm glad somebody noticed," Rodney interjected.

"Cela is correct, Jarak," Buldur replied. "Before we can expect further help from the strangers, we must help them."

"And just how do you propose to help?" Jarak asked.

"Finin," Buldur said, turning to the other man. "Do you know a way into the Place of Waiting?"

"There is a secret passage," Finin confirmed. "But it is narrow and difficult to manoeuvre through it."

"Neither Carson or Caldwell are particularly big," Rodney said, slightly puzzled by the remark.

"At best, they will be pacified," Finin explained. "At worst, well, there may be no point in rescuing them."

"Now that is reassuring," Rodney commented.

oOoOoOo

Every time he opened his eyes, fighting to regain consciousness, he wished he hadn't bothered. The pain was excruciating. It was so intense, he couldn't work out exactly where the pain originated.

There were people there, shadowy figures in the background. He couldn't focus enough to see faces, but he knew he wasn't at home, in his own Infirmary. The smells were different for a start. There wasn't the clean, fresh smell that he liked to maintain. The smell was alien and musty. It was wrong.

The sounds were different too. There wasn't the hustle and bustle he was used too. Everything he heard was subdued, as if he was hearing it through a fog.

Once he thought he saw Steven Caldwell in another bed, but his thoughts and nightmares became so intermingled, it was difficult to distinguish one from another.

But more than anything else, his thoughts were dominated by the agonising pain. He tried to move his legs, but even a slight movement of his thigh caused a searing pain that shot right through his body.

He was aware he was burning up too. In fact, his temperature seemed out of control, shivering one minute, sweat streaming off him the next. Carson knew he needed something to combat the infection he obviously had, as well as the injury to his knees. And that brought the hint of a memory back into his befuddled mind. He tried to focus on the memory, of someone else who had a fever, who needed antibiotics, but his mind couldn't cope with effort, and he slipped back into the welcoming blackness of oblivion.

oOoOoOo

"Please be careful," Elizabeth said, wringing her hands together until they were almost white. "Yes, we want to bring the others back, but not at the expense of your crew."

"We're always careful," John replied, a lopsided grin breaking over his face.

Ronon grunted in acknowledgement.

"We will take every precaution," Teyla said, with a reassuring smile for Elizabeth.

The taller woman responded with a smile, and a nod. At that moment, Radek came rushing into the room. His hair was in even more disarray than before, if that was at all possible. His arms were full of equipment, most of which John didn't recognise.

"Are we ready to go?" Radek asked, looking at the others expectantly.

"We?" John asked, raising a quizzical eyebrow at the other man.

"You need a scientist to help you," Radek explained. "Rodney can't help; he needs to be rescued. So you have me instead. I'm your 'Rodney' for this mission."

"Another Rodney," John muttered under his breathe. "Just what the world needs."

"I will be able to use the scanners to monitor the path of the asteroids," Radek continued as if John hadn't spoken.

"It will be reassuring to have you with us, Radek," Teyla, ever the diplomat, said with a smile for the scientist. "Will it not, Colonel?" she continued, turning to John.

"Very," John replied, with an attempt at sincerity. "Okay, let's go!"


	7. Treatment Area

Rodney went back to his work, trying to repair the 'Gate. He and Cela had debated, trading ideas of what he should do. Rodney instinctively wanted to stay with the rebels, doing his best to help them free his friends. But Cela's logic won through. She suggested that it would be safer for everyone if Rodney continued as if he knew nothing about what was going on in the fringes of Batak society.

Rodney worked ferociously on the 'Gate. Once Cela had convinced him he should continue the work, he dedicated himself to the task with his usual single-mindedness. He was alone, having sent the others off to eat. But he had stayed, snatching mouthfuls of a bread-like substance he'd been given to eat. He wanted the 'Gate to be operational so that he and the others could escape through it, once the rebels had rescued them.

His mind shied away from the state that Carson and Caldwell might be in when they were rescued. And he didn't dare think about the possibility of them not be rescued.

"Where's that scanner?" Rodney said, talking to himself. He was working within the dialling device that operated the 'Gate.

"Is this what you're looking for?" a voice asked.

Surprise, mixed with a hint of fear, made Rodney jump, bumping his head on the framework of the dialling device.

"Owww," he said, as he emerged, holding his head in pain.

"My apologies, Dr McKay," Finin said, approaching the scientist with a gentle smile on his face. "I have news that may be of interest to you."

"Fine," Rodney replied, sharply. "But the next time you have news, could you stomp around a bit before you talk. The last thing you need is to scramble my brains."

"I will bear that in mind, Dr McKay," Finin replied, without a hint of irony in his voice.

"And the news?" Rodney prompted, impatiently.

"Ah, yes," Finin responded, glancing around carefully, to ensure they were alone. "We have managed to locate your Colonel Caldwell, in the Place of Waiting."

"That's good," Rodney replied.

"Two of our people are extracting him as we speak," Finin continued, with a proud smile.

"Sounds painful," Rodney muttered. "And what about Carson?" he asked.

"We have not been able to locate Dr Beckett, yet," Finin's smile faded. "We believe he is in the Treatment Area at the moment, and security there is very tight."

"What happens in the Treatment Area?" Rodney asked, not sure if he really wanted to hear the answer.

"That is where they recreate the symptoms of the healer's patient, and then watch them to see if the gods' decide to take their lives."

"What did Carson do to deserve that?" Rodney asked, in exasperation. "All he did was try to help you?"

"I agree, Dr McKay," the young man responded. "And we will do everything we can to ensure he is released, but it will not be easy."

oOoOoOo

She looked down at her patient, pity in her eyes. When she started out as a Healer, she had envisaged her future as one of saving lives, and restoring people to health. But then the Wise Ones had taken control of the Batak society, and the life of a Healer had become a dangerous one.

And to her secret shame, she had taken the easy option, the safe option. Her choice had been to continue practising her profession, or else to join the payroll of the Wise Ones. The moral dilemma still caused her sleepless nights. Her training, her nature was to save lives. But now she was inflicting pain, creating illness, and then standing back and watching it's progression. At times she found it difficult to live with her decisions. But the alternative was to die for her principals, and she was not brave enough to take that stand.

The man lying before her was not a coward. She had seen the fear in his eyes when they brought him in, when they'd explained to him what they would do to him. But that fear had disappeared very quickly, to be replaced by a dogged determination. And a stubborn set to his jaw that told her he would never have capitulated to the Wise Ones, to have collaborated with them, in the way she had.

Still she pitied him for what he was going through, but envied the strength of character that she saw in him.

"Where am I lass?" his voice brought her attention back to him directly.

"You're in the Treatment Area," she replied, knowing the answer would mean little to him.

"What happened to me?" he asked, a puzzled frown creasing his sweat-slick brow.

She hesitated for a moment, trying to find an acceptable way of explaining what had happened.

"There was an accident," she said, her hesitation evident in her voice. She tried to convince herself, that after all that was how this whole thing had started, even if this Healer hadn't been directly been injured, his current condition had resulted from that original accident. But even as the thought echoed through her brain, she realised she was unconvinced by her own argument.

Her patient obviously sensed her lack of conviction.

"But how did I get hurt?" the man continued, his voice weak, but insistent.

Unable, or unwilling, to give him an answer, she took the easy option.

"Do not worry about that," she said, placing a soothing hand on his forehead, which was burning up. "You need to rest, to conserve your strength."

To her relief, the Healer's eyes fluttered shut, leaving his lashes as dark circles under his eyes.

oOoOoOo

John purposely relaxed his shoulders. He was feeling tense. It was his worst nightmare, when one of his "family" was in danger, and now he had two of them who needed his help (he couldn't count Caldwell as "family", but he did owe the Colonel a "rescue" or two).

In addition, the little "welcoming committee" that awaited them on the other side of the 'Gate kept him on edge. He knew his reflexes had to be at their sharpest to meet the meteor field that would greet them. He also knew that if he was too tense, the Jumper would somehow sense this and would be ever so slightly jerky. And that could be enough to cause a fatal collision.

Taking a deep breath, John turned to the others. Ronon lounged at the back of the Jumper, seemingly relaxed, but John knew from experience that the Satedan was rarely relaxed. In contrast, Radek was all fidgets and startled eyes. The Czech hated going off world. His previous excursions made him even more nervous than Carson. And his nervousness was very evident in his whole demeanour.

Teyla, as always, was a little oasis of peace. She sat beside John in the co-pilot's seat and was calmly studying the instruments in front of her. As if sensing his gaze, she turned and gave him a gentle smile.

"Everyone ready?" John asked.

"Yes."

"Yeah."

"Ano."

Nodding in response, John turned back to the console in front of him, and prepared for launch. The Jumper rose smoothly and hovered for a moment, before heading towards the 'Gate. The tension returned to John's shoulders, but he forced himself to relax. Taking a deep breath, he prepared himself to face the challenge of meteor field.

It was just as well he was prepared for it, because as soon as they reached the other 'Gate, they were bombarded with meteors. Luckily, the ones in the immediate vicinity of the 'Gate were small, but in front of them were much larger obstacles.

Radek started to tap furiously on his laptop, muttering to himself in Czech.

"Speak to me, Radek!" John said. "In English!"

"We believe the effect of the 'Gate makes the meteors smaller closer to it," Radek said.

"And?" John asked.

"They will be bigger further away," the scientist replied.

"I can see that for myself," John retorted.

"It will give me chance to work out trajectories," Radek said by way of explanation.

"So you gonna plot me a course through this lot?" John asked, seeking clarity.

"Yes," Radek replied, with confidence.

"Good," John replied.


	8. Rodney's Twitch

Two hours later, Radek had been as good as his word. There had been a few close shaves, and the Jumper had a few more dents in it than before, but they had safely navigated the meteor field.

John let out a sigh, and forced his shoulders to relax yet again. He glanced round at the others. Ronon had braced himself against the back of the Jumper, and still stood there, almost as if his strength was supporting the frame of the Jumper rather than the other way around.

Teyla was sitting gripping the edge of her chair tightly, her knuckles white against the darkness of the chair. Although she seemed her usual calm self, John could see the tightness round her mouth that betrayed her tension.

Radek was still hunched over his laptop, checking to see if there were any more stray meteors in the vicinity. His focus was completely on the screen in front of him, and he was muttering to himself again. His hair was doing its best to stand on end, and he had a kind of crumpled look about him.

"How far are we from the planet?" John asked.

"We should be there very soon," Radek said.

oOoOoOo

It was the sensation of movement that first aroused him from his half-unconscious state. He felt arms lift him from the bed, strong arms, that had no trouble in supporting him. He tried to remember where he was, but his memories were elusive. He had a vague recollection of being ill, but it was only a cold. Had his cold developed into some strange Pegasus virus?

"Carson will know," Caldwell thought, but even that idea somehow seemed wrong, at least for the situation Caldwell found himself in.

As he tried to force his thoughts into some kind of order, the strong arms supported him as he stumbled blindly along corridors. He had no idea of where he was going, or even where he was, but he let his rescuers guide him.

"Rescuers?" Caldwell thought to himself. "Why do I think of them as rescuers?"

He tried to turn to look at the men who were supporting him, but the lighting was very subdued. Even squinting his eyes, he could only make out vague outlines.

It was obvious his body was weak, from whatever it was that was wrong with him. His legs struggled to support him, and his usually fit body refused to master even the basics of walking. He felt as weak as a new-born kitten.

After what seemed like a life-time, his supporters stopped, and gently lowered him onto a bed.

"How is he?" a female voice asked.

"He is still suffering from the last dose of the Pacifier," one of his supporters replied. "But it should soon wear off."

"Make him comfortable in the meantime," she ordered. "And let me know when he is fully awake."

Caldwell frowned. He wasn't sure he liked the sound of that. But he didn't have the energy to object, and he didn't have the strength to fight. So, instead, he gave into the urgent need to sleep, and let his eyes flutter shut.

oOoOoOo

To John's surprise, they encountered no problems on their approach to Batak. With all that had occurred so far in their encounters with these people, he'd expected something would happen. He allowed all his senses to be alert to any threat. He could sense that both Teyla and Ronon were being vigilant as well.

They had discussed contacting the Daedalus before they approached the planet, but had decided against any further delay. Time could be of the essence if Carson, Rodney and Caldwell needed rescued.

As they entered the planet's atmosphere, they were greeted by a surprisingly friendly voice.

"Please identify yourself before we permit you to land," the disembodied voice requested pleasantly.

John exchanged a glance with Teyla before replying. "This is Colonel John Sheppard from Atlantis," he responded. He had hesitated before saying where he was from, but then remembered that the Batak had already known that. "We have come to see if we can offer you any further assistance."

"Then please land at the co-ordinates we are sending you," the voice replied before the connection was broken.

"We are to offer assistance?" Radek asked, confusion in his voice.

"Well," John replied. "We are . . . sorta."

Ronon snorted.

"Well, we are going to assist them to find Carson, Rodney and Caldwell, aren't we?"

Teyla gave him a look that verged on pity.

He turned back to the console, disappointed in their lack of support for his creative truthfulness.

Soon, all that was forgotten, as he concentrated on manoeuvring the Jumper into the small landing site. Although the Jumper was small, it still took all of John's skill to land it. However, the landing was very gentle, so gentle in fact, that Radek didn't realise that they had actually landed. Well, not for at least 50 seconds. He was studying his laptop, trying to see if he could use the scanner modification he and Rodney had been working on to identify their three missing colleagues.

It was the shadow caste by John's presence, standing in front of him, that alerted Radek to the fact that they had landed. He looked up, an almost shocked look on his face.

"Colonel?" he looked at the other man, a quizzical look on his face. Then reality dawned on him. "We have arrived?"

John nodded, an amused smile on his face. "Care to join us, Doc?" he asked, gesturing towards the other two members of the team, who were standing by the entrance to the Jumper.

"Oh, yes," Radek said, jumping to his feet, almost dropping his laptop on the floor. Luckily, John's reflexes were quick enough to prevent it falling to the ground.

Radek was all fingers and thumbs as he tried to gather his things together. He almost jumped out of his skin, when a voice sounded right beside him.

"Let me help you, Doc," Ronon said, leaning over, and effortlessly lifting up Radek's heaviest bag.

"Thank you," Radek replied, sounding flustered, and anxious too.

As the two men joined the others on the planet's surface, John was already being greeted by a sombre, very upright-looking official.

"Welcome to Batak," the man said, although his tone and body-language both belied his words.

"Thanks," John said, sketching a salute.

"Thank you for letting us land," Teyla said, with a sideways glance at John, silently reprimanding him for his lack of diplomacy. "We have come to aid you further. I trust our colleagues have been of assistance."

"Yes," John added. "Where are they by the way?"

This earned him another reprimanding glance from Teyla. John just shrugged. He could do diplomacy with the best of them, but he felt this was an occasion for being direct.

"Dr McKay is working on the Ring," the man replied. "And Dr Beckett is in an isolation area with a patient."

"And Colonel Caldwell?" John asked.

A puzzled look crossed the man's face. "Colonel Caldwell returned to your ship before we lost contact with them," he replied.

"Well," John drawled. "He never got there."

"That is concerning," the man responded.

His puzzled concern seemed genuine, and for a moment John wondered if they had misread the situation. But then Rodney arrived.

The scientist looked harassed, and worried. His eyes darted back and forward, and it was very obvious to John that he was trying to tell them something. But the frantic expressions and furtive hand movements were difficult to read. And John was none the wiser after watching his friend. He would have to rely on verbal communication at a later date.

"Would you care to take some repast?" the man asked.

For a moment John couldn't quite work out what he was being asked. Ronon looked even more puzzled than John, but Teyla was obviously used to the arcane language.

"We would be happy to share food with you," she replied.

"Good," thought John. "Now we might get a chance to work out what Rodney's nervous twitching was all about.

oOoOoOo

Carson awoke to the touch of gentle hands bathing his body. He didn't react, instinctively, not wanting to let his carer know he was awake. He managed to remain completely still until he heard her soft footsteps fade away until the distance, though not before she had given his hand a gentle squeeze.

Carson slowly opened his eyes, squinting out of half open lids to check that he was alone. His body was still as weak as a baby turtle, but his mind was clear, at last. And his memory of recent events had returned to him, with painful clarity.

The pain came rushing back. Not just the physical pain from his wrecked knees, but the emotional pain of loosing his patient in such a pointless and frustrating way.

After the pain came the realisation that he was trapped. It was impossible for him to move under his own steam. His legs were incapable of bearing his weight, even for a few faltering steps. Looking round, it was obvious he was in some kind of isolation chamber. The normal hustle and bustle of an infirmary was absent, and even the rather chaotic medical care offered by the Batak was missing. He was alone; he was uncared for; and he was in pain.

Carson's mind ran through any possible escape routes. But no possibilities sprang to mind. His memory returned to his time as a prisoner of Michael. He'd felt the same sense of hopelessness then. But always, at the back of his mind, was the hope that his friends would rescue him – again. He knew how John felt about leaving people behind. He knew that he would never stop searching for him.

After a moment of comfort from that idea, a horrible thought struck the Scot. "What if the Batak told his rescuers that he was missing? Or worse?"

As much as Carson tried to over-rule this thought, he couldn't. He already knew that the Batak tended to be economical with the truth. If his friends didn't realise that he needed to be rescued, then how could they actually rescue him?

He settled back on his bed, with a sigh. The frustrating thing was that there was nothing he could do about it.


	9. How to Escape

Carson wasn't the only one feeling frustrated. John was being driven mad by the continuing presence of the Batak while they were eating. He'd hoped to have a change to get some information out of Rodney, but that was proving impossible as their hosts were ever-present.

Rodney was obviously also irritated by this. In less serious circumstances, the scientist's attempts at communicating without words would have seemed amusing. To an outsider it looked as if the scientist was the victim of all the facial tics going. And his hands seemed to be joining in too. John did wonder what their hosts thought of it.

Eventually, to the Lanteans' relief, their hosts suggested that they be shown to their sleeping quarters. As they walked along the endless corridors, John tried to maintain his bearings. All the corridors looked the same, and they seemed to be going round in a wide circle. John glanced up at Ronon, and realised the Satedan was doing the same. Ronon met the glance and returned it with a nod.

The rooms they were shown to were all interconnected, with a main living area in the middle. In layout, they resembled a hotel suite, but without any of the luxury that suggested. But the only luxury John and the others required was some privacy so they could find out what was getting Rodney all worked up.

"At last," Rodney said, as they were finally left alone. "I was beginning to think they were trying to stop us talking to each other."

"What do you want to tell us, Rodney?" John asked. "I take it that our hosts were slightly economical with the truth."

"And that's an understatement," Rodney replied. "They can't seem to tell the truth to save themselves. Except of course the rebels, who I believe. Well, I think I believe them. But there again, they could be lying too. But, anyway, both Caldwell and Carson seemed to have disappeared. Though of course Cela says that they've found Caldwell, so that's good."

John looked at the others, who looked as confused by Rodney's "explanation" as he was.

"Whose Cela?" John asked, trying to see if he could get something clear.

"I'm Cela," a light female voice floated in from the doorway.

"Where did you come from?" Ronon growled.

"They keep doing that," Rodney exclaimed. "Appearing out of thin air, like that."

"Perhaps I can answer some of your questions," Cela continued, ignoring their exchange.

"Someone needs to," John said, with a glare at Rodney.

Cela smiled. "Our leaders, the Wise Ones, have decreed that those who suffer from illness are being punished by the gods. Your Colonel Caldwell was ill."

"He just had a cold!" Rodney interjected.

"And so was taken to the Place of Waiting," Cela continued as if Rodney had not interrupted. "We have rescued him from there."

"And Carson?" Teyla asked.

"The Wise Ones also believe that if a patient dies of an illness, the Healer is also being punished. The Healer is given the conditions from which his patient suffered, and then it is left in the hands of the gods."

"And one of Carson's patients died of an illness?" Teyla asked.

"He did," Cela confirmed, a note of sadness in her voice.

"And have you been able to rescue him too?" John asked.

"Unfortunately," Cela replied, "we've been unable to locate him, as yet."

"What's in this for you?" John asked.

"We do not believe in the way of the Wise Ones, and we are trying to show our people that there is another way of living. We do not believe it is fair that your people were made to suffer for the beliefs of the Wise Ones."

"Can you take us to Colonel Caldwell?" John asked.

Cela nodded. "That is why I am here, to take you to him."

"But what about the leaders?" Radek asked, his tone nervous. "Will they just let us wander round here as we like?"

"We have a series of secret passageways that we can use," Cela replied. "No-one need see you."

"So that's how you do it!" Rodney exclaimed.

The smile Cela gave the scientist was verging on mischievous.

oOoOoOo

Carson used each moment he was alone to plot an escape attempt. His fever had completely gone now, but he was still dehydrated and very hungry. The pain from his shattered knees made him feel weaker still. But he knew that to give up would mean death. He wasn't sure why he was so sure of this, but in his mind it was a certainty. Perhaps it was due to the way the carers looked after him. There was something in their faces that suggested to him they were tending a man they thought was a dead man.

Carson didn't understand the beliefs of these people. In fact, he was glad he didn't. To understand such casual cruelty exercised in the name of gods, might take him a step closer to condoning such treatment. And Carson never wanted to justify a set of beliefs that allowed people to die when they could easily be saved.

So, he knew he had to do something to save himself. He couldn't walk, but he'd spotted something that could be used as crutches near to his bed. If he could just manoeuvre himself close enough to reach them, then he might have a chance to escape, at least far enough to let Rodney know he was still alive. His legs had already been splinted, and they'd actually done a good job of immobilising his legs. So that would make it just about possible to use the crutches.

"Just as well I've kept up the visits to the gym," Carson muttered to himself.

He'd been monitoring the visits of the people who were looking after him, or perhaps guarding him would be a better way of describing it. They checked on him every hour, and in between they seemed to go to another part of the complex. The main problem that faced him was that he didn't have a clue where he was. He'd been unconscious when he was brought into the area, and he wasn't sure where he was in relation to the parts of the complex that he'd been familiar with. Still, he felt that he stood more of a chance wandering the corridors than he did as a prisoner in this room.

So, he reached out as far as he could, towards the makeshift crutches. There was a trolley between him, and his target. He leaned against it, but it was on wheels, and it went flying, leaving him crumpled on the floor. He took a few moments to recover, taking deep breaths, trying to dampen down the agonising pain. He then hauled himself towards the sticks he wanted to use, dragging his useless legs behind him. There was a chair beside the sticks and he managed to pull himself up onto the chair, and grasped his precious sticks to him, like they were made of gold. Taking another moment to compose himself, he then forced himself upright, taking as much wait as possible on his arms and shoulders, letting his legs trail behind him. It was still agony, but at least he was able to move now. Moving very carefully, he started towards the door, making his desperate bid for freedom.

oOoOoOo

"Colonel," Caldwell said as way of greeting as John led the others into the room. The older man stood, but it was obviously an effort for him. His usual vigour was absent and his eyes looked dull and weary.

"It's good to see you again, Colonel," John responded.

Before they could continue the greetings, a siren sounded, reverberating round the room. It was the sort of noise that set your nerves on edge, and seemed to reach into you and press all the panic buttons.

"What the hell is that?" John asked.

"It is the warning alarm," Cela said, looking anxious.

"Why's it sounding?" Ronon asked.

Cela opened her mouth to reply, but before she could say anything, an announcement seemed to fill the room.

"This is to warn the people of Batak that rebels against the Wise Council have taken our visitors hostage. They should not be approached. The Guard will deal with them severely, and we advise everyone to remain in their Quarters to avoid injury."

"Oh boy!" Rodney said. "That complicates things."

Cela turned to one of the men standing by the door. "Sound the Call the Action," she ordered.

The man moved quickly to the other side of the room, and pressed a button. Immediately another alarm sounded. If anything, it was even more nerve-inducing than the other.

"Okay," John said. "Just what is going on here?"

"We have a plan in place to rise up against the Wise Ones, if they discovered us," Cela explained.

"And you have just put that plan into action?" Teyla asked.

"Yes," the other woman replied. "Our people will take every step they can to bring down the Wise Ones."

"Oh Great!" Rodney exclaimed. "Another civil war."

"We do not ask that you become involved," Cela responded.

"Good," John replied. "It's our policy not to become involved in domestic matters."

Ronon snorted. He gave John an amused glance, thinking of the occasions when they had become more than involved. John ignored him.

"Can you get us to our ship?" John asked.

It was Finin who replied, having just come hurtling into the room.

"Your ship has been confiscated by the Wise Ones," the young man reported. "They said they were afraid we would use it to escape."

"This just gets better!" Rodney responded. "Well done, Colonel. You come to save us and end up getting trapped too. You've lost your ship, we don't know where Carson is and we can't escape. This is just wonderful."

"Your gratitude is noted, Rodney," the other man replied.

"What about the Ring?" It was Buldur who asked the question.

"What do you expect, miracles?" Rodney asked defensively. "It was almost destroyed, and it's very delicate work rebuilding it."

"Yeah," Ronon agreed. "You don't want bits and pieces of you flying all over the galaxy."

"Thank you, Dr Muscles," Rodney responded, earning a mocking grin from the Satedan.

"If you could get it fixed, Rodney," John said. "It would be a good way of escaping."

"I could help you," Radek offered.

"Buldur," Cela said. "Take our friends to the Ring and ensure no-one disturbs them."

"What about Carson?" Teyla asked, as the two scientist followed the taller man out along one of the secret corridors.

"I guess we'd better go and find him," John said with a shrug.

"I can take you to where we think he is being held," Finin offered, eagerly. Cela nodded her agreement.

"Let's go then," John said, adding his agreement.


	10. Some Rescue

Carson had just made it as far as the door to his room when the first siren sounded. He stopped in his track, almost loosing his precariously balance. He managed to lean against another bed near the door, until the nerve-jangling noise stopped.

The announcement that followed it worried Carson. He didn't know who the rebels were. They could very well be even worse than the rulers they'd already encountered. And if they had Rodney, what was he to do? He could hardly rescue his friend, when he could barely move?

He managed to manoeuvre himself through the door. It was just as well there was no-one else around. He was hardly in a fit state for a quick getaway. In the distance he could hear the sounds of general confusion. There were raised voices, and running feet.

He managed to ease himself out into the corridor. He'd expected the doors to be locked, though Ronon had taught him a few tricks in lock picking. But he'd managed to escape without having to resort to any of them.

The corridor itself was deserted, but it was obvious that there were a lot of people nearby. The noise levels increased the further Carson went. Instinctively, Carson knew he needed to stay away from anyone. Even in the general confusion, he would stand out. There wouldn't be many people hobbling around on crutches with their legs in splints.

He turned a corner, moving cautiously, and then immediately stopped. He could hear footsteps coming closer to him, moving at a run. Glancing round frantically, Carson saw a door. He hobbled towards it, as fast as his crutches and his gammy legs would allow him. Cautiously, he turned the handle on the door, and it opened smoothly. It was a storeroom, but there was room for one Scotsman. The doctor eased himself into the room, and slumped down to the floor, taking steadying breaths.

He leant back against the wall, his eyes closed as the footsteps approached. For a moment they stopped, and so did Carson's breathing. Slowly, the Scot lifted one of his makeshift crutches up, pointing it at the door. At least if someone came after him, he'd not give in without a fight.

But the footsteps restarted, moving quickly into the distance. The doctor let out the breath he was holding, and let his body slump back against the wall. His eyes fluttered shut, all his remaining energy spent.

oOoOoOo

"Don't put that there!" Rodney said sharply.

"And where do you want me to put it?" Radek replied, brandishing the offending piece of equipment threatening at Rodney.

Buldur looked alarmed, but Ronon, who had gone along as added protection, just snorted a laugh.

"Well, try putting it in that slot, that might actually be helpful," Rodney retorted.

"And if it blows us up?" Radek asked.

"Then I'll apologise to whatever pieces of you I can find," Rodney replied.

"That makes me feel so much better," Radek responded sarcastically.

But he did put the piece he was holding in the slot that Rodney had indicated. Thankfully, the 'Gate didn't explode again. In fact, it made a sort of grinding noise as if there was some power eventually getting through to the mechanism.

"Good," Rodney replied thoughtfully, then starting checking the equipment he'd set up to register the power supply to the 'Gate.

"Is it working, yet?" Ronon asked, leaning negligently against a nearby tree.

"This isn't a movie," Rodney retorted. "Miracles take time."

"Just asking," Ronon said, calmly.

oOoOoOo

Gunfire could be heard in the distance, as John and the others raced towards the Healing Area. Finin led them through the secret corridors, initially, but they eventually had to emerge into the normal corridors. Thankfully, the gunfire seemed to be in the opposite direction from the one in which they were travelling.

As they approached the Healing Area, the place was swarming with people, all milling around like ants, but without their purpose. They were all so intent on self-preservation that no-one seemed to notice the strangers heading in the opposite direction from the general flow.

Finin was in the lead, closely followed by John. Caldwell came next, and Teyla took up the rear. Caldwell was still slightly woozy from whatever drug they had forced into his system. But he was determined to play his part, and not to be a burden to the others.

Eventually, they reached the Healing Area. It was strangely quiet. The team slowed to a silent prowl, uncertain what the silence meant. Gently pushing the door to the main area open, Finin led the others in. The place was empty of staff, and even most of the patients had taken the opportunity to escape. For it seemed as if they needed to escape from John's point of view. There were shackles on the beds, and locks on the doors. Straps hung loosely from the few seats that littered the area. It was the opposite of Carson's well organised and "user-friendly" Infirmary. Not that John would admit that to Carson of course.

"The Special Patients are usually kept through here," Finin said, indicating a door almost hidden at the back of the room.

"I'll stay out here, and keep guard," Caldwell said, halfway between a suggestion and an order. John nodded his response. If the military man felt up to standing guard, he wasn't going to disagree.

The other three headed cautiously for the door. The room was little better than the others. It was a mess of equipment and dirty dressings. Someone had obviously been lying in the bed recently, as the bed linen was rumpled. There were faint traces of blood on the sheets, and in some places, a definite stain of leaking wound could be seen.

John glanced over at Teyla and noticed that her face was just as grim as his.

"Do you think Carson was in here?" he asked.

Teyla bent down suddenly, and when she straightened, she held a piece of paper in her hand. It was a wrapper from a powerbar.

"I think he was," she said sadly.

"Then where the hell is he now?" John asked.

"Do you think the Wise Ones would have taken him elsewhere?" Teyla asked Finin.

"I do not know," the man asked, a confused frown on his face. "These are strange times, and it is difficult to predict the actions of another."

"So what do we do now?" Teyla asked.

"Let's go see if we can hunt down our good Dr Beckett," John said, trying to keep his voice cheerful.

"I do not think you will be going anywhere, just yet," a voice said from the doorway. It was Valuk, who'd first welcomed Rodney and Carson to the planet, and who was the leader of the Wise Ones.

John glanced round the Batak leader and noticed that Caldwell was slumped on the ground.

"No help from that source, then," John thought to himself.

"What good do you think this will do?" Teyla asked the man facing them, with a gun in his hand.

"You will be my safe passage out of here," Valuk answered. "While I have you with me, the rebels will not dare open fire."

"And where do you plan to go?" John asked.

"I will go through the Ring, once your colleague has repaired it," the Batak answered in a reasonable tone.

"I don't think so," John replied. "Rodney didn't seem to think he could repair it."

"Then why is he there just now, working on it?" Valuk asked.

John muttered to himself. He'd banked on the fact that the Batak didn't know about that. So much for bluffing.

"We're not going anywhere without Dr Beckett," John said, trying a different angle.

"That is unfortunate," Valuk responded. "Since he seems to have managed to get lost. And I have not time to spend looking for him."

"Well, I do," John responded.

"Ah, yes," Valuk responded. "But, you see, I am the one in possession of the firearm. So you will do as I say, NOW!" The last word was shouted as the Batak allowed his frustration at the delay to show.


	11. Now that is what I call a rescue

Carson regained consciousness to the sound of a multitude of voices in the corridor. He tried to make sense of what they were saying, but there were so many talking at once that it was impossible to make out the words within the cacophony of sound. The voices gradually became more distant and faded off into the distance.

The Scot eased himself to his feet, or to his crutches, and then gently opened the door. As he watched, he saw a figure disappearing into the distance towards the Infirmary, or Healing Area, or whatever they called it. The figure looked like Valuk, but Carson wasn't sure as he'd only caught a glimpse.

Uncertain for a moment as to what he should do, Carson stood looking first in one direction and then in the other. At that moment of uncertainty, Carson heard a familiar voice off in the distance.

"Just what are you doing there, lad?" he muttered under his breath.

At least that made his decision easier. Heading towards a friendly voice seemed like a much safer option than heading towards silence. With his mind made up, Carson started to hobble in the direction of the voice.

oOoOoOo

"I said MOVE!" Valuk ordered again, his agitation reaching a peak. "And I will use this if you do not do as I say." His words were accompanied by a rather worrying flailing of his gun.

"No you won't," said a familiar voice from behind the Batak. A heavy stick then came down heavily on the Batak's head, leaving him in a crumpled heap on the floor. His falling body revealed their saviour. It was Carson. He stood there for a moment, looking both worried and triumphant. But then the effort it'd taken to floor the Batak proved too much for the meagre energy resources the doctor had, and he too crumpled on the floor.

"Carson!" Teyla called out, racing to the Scot's side. She could see that there was blood seeping from the bandages round his knees. The doctor's face was white as a sheet and there was a sheen of sweat beading his forehead. She glanced up at John, a worried frown on her face.

"We need to get him back to Atlantis quickly," she said. John nodded. He glanced around the room, looking for rope, or something to restrain the Batak leader.

"Here, this might do," a voice said beside him. It was Caldwell. He had a nasty bruise on the side of his head, and his eyes still looked slightly dazed, but he was obviously thinking clearly enough.

"Thanks," John said, taking the binding the Colonel had passed to him.

Between them, and with the help of Finin, they restrained Valuk, and tied him to a chair.

"What should we do with him now?" Caldwell asked.

"Leave him here," John suggested. "Let the Batak deal with him."

Finin nodded his agreement to this. "We will deal with him as we see fit," the young man confirmed. "Cela already has plans for him."

The two military men exchanged an amused look. Neither of them would like to be on the wrong side of that formidable woman.

"I think we can safely leave Cela to deal with him," John agreed. "Rodney," he continued, into his ear piece. "How's the 'Gate doing?"

"We've almost got it ready," Rodney said, sounding exasperated for being interrupted.

"Well," John ignored the tone. "We're on our way, and we need to get home soon. Carson needs medical assistance immediately."

"So you found him?" Rodney asked, rather obviously.

"No," John replied sarcastically. "We just plan to conjure him out of thin air. Of course we've found him."

"No need to shout," Rodney replied, mildly. "Just because it took you so long."

"Yes, Rodney," John responded, deciding not to respond to his friend's wind up. "Just have the 'Gate operational by the time we arrive."

A young man ran into the Healing Area, almost scrambling to a halt to avoid the people already there.

"Cela sent me," he said, holding his hands up as the Lanteans had reached for the weapons. "We have found your ship."

"Why don't I take the ship back to the Daedalus, and you can take Carson to the 'Gate," Caldwell suggested.

"You up to flying her?" John asked, slapping the man's shoulder, his usual veiled hostility absent.

"I'll managed," Caldwell responded, a rueful smile on his lips.

"Good," John responded. Caldwell nodded and then left with the young man who had given them the news.

"So all we need to do now is get Carson to the 'Gate, and then we're home."

oOoOoOo

Rodney was just putting the finishing touches to the 'Gate when they arrived. Carson was slung between John and Finin, with Teyla guarding them as the made their slow progress.

"He Okay?" Rodney asked, casting an anxious glance at his unconscious friend.

"He will be once we get him home," John replied. "He saved our lives back there. The least we can do now is save his."

"Carson saved your life?" Radek asked, awe and horror vying for supremacy in his voice.

"We had a little discussion with Valuk who decided he wanted to come with us. When we objected he turned nasty," John explained. "Luckily, Carson made him see sense, by hitting him over the head."

"Hmm," Rodney replied. "Sounds like Carson. Okay, the 'Gate is now ready."

"It's safe, right, Doc?" Ronon asked, winking at John as he said this.

"Of course it's safe," Rodney blustered in reply. "I wouldn't risk my own life with shoddy work," he continued, before noticing the grin on Ronon's face.

"Very funny," the scientist continued. "Now if you've finished with the comedy hour, perhaps we can return home."

Just at that moment, Cela appeared. "I have come to wish you well," she said. "And to let you know that Colonel Caldwell is on his way back to his ship."

"Thanks," John said, turning to face the woman. She held out her hand, and John took it in his and felt her firm handshake surround his hand.

"Once we have settled down here," Cela said, nodding back at her city. "You would be welcome to return.

"Thank you," John replied.

"'Gate has been dialled," Rodney announced.

"Good bye," Cela said.

She was greeted with a chorus of farewells.


	12. Home at Last

Elizabeth was standing anxiously on the other side of the 'Gate awaiting their return. The information they'd received from the Daedalus had been limited. She knew Carson had been injured, and a medical team was standing by, but other than that . . .

Rodney came through the 'Gate first, with Teyla by his side. Radek came next, an anxious expression on his face. Then came John and Ronon, supporting a slumped figure between them. It was Carson.

Elizabeth couldn't prevent the cry of anguish that escaped her when she saw her CMO. Her view of him was soon obscured when one of his own medical teams rushed forward and gently laid him down on the stretcher they'd brought and wheeled him along the corridor rushing him to the Infirmary.

"What happened to him?" Elizabeth asked John.

"We don't know exactly," John replied. "He was injured in punishment for loosing a patient, we think. But we're not exactly sure, and Carson hasn't been conscious long enough to tell us more."

Elizabeth nodded, and gave John a gentle pat on his shoulder.

"You should all get to the Infirmary and get checked over," she said. "Colonel Caldwell and the Daedalus are on their way back too."

With a nod in her direction, John hurried off towards the Infirmary, anxious to see how Carson was, rather than to have to endure the usual post-mission check up.

When the team arrived in the Infirmary, the scene was rather chaotic. There were a huddle of people all surrounding one of the beds, and John assumed it was Carson who was in the middle of the huddle.

A gentle hand on his arm got his attention back from Carson and he looked down into the smiling face of one of the junior doctors. He couldn't remember her name as she'd only arrived the previous week.

"I've to do your post-mission review," she said, leading him towards a cubicle. John noticed the others were also getting checked over.

It seemed to take the doctor forever to do the check-up. It might have just been that John was anxious to get back to see how Carson was. Once he was through, he hopped off the bed, and headed swiftly towards the main part of the Infirmary. In his hast, he almost bumped into Elizabeth who was standing to the side, watching from a distance.

"How is he?" John asked.

"They've taken into surgery to try to stabilise his knees," she said, wearily. "They said it could take them a while, and he'll be off his feet for a while too."

"I'm sure Carson will still manage to get his pretty nurses running around after him," John said with a grin.

Elizabeth laughed. "Considering the source . . ." she said, grinning up at the man at her side.

"He's going to make it, isn't he?" he asked.

"Yes," Elizabeth replied, relief evident in her voice. "It'll be a long haul, but he will make it."

oOoOoOo

Carson forced his eyes open. They felt very heavy. He couldn't work out where he was. The sounds seemed familiar, welcoming. But he was on a strange planet, wasn't he? Trying to look around, he found he couldn't move very easily.

"Take it easy, Carson," said a soft voice. It was Elizabeth.

"I'm home," he said.

"Yes," she replied, with a smile. "You're home. You're safe and will be well. But you need to rest."

"Sleepy," Carson said, letting his eyes flutter shut. She smiled down at him, affection for her friend very evident on his face.

oOoOoOo

Rodney sat typing on his computer, focusing on the screen, muttering to himself.

"Can you not type quietly?" Carson asked, sounding slightly grumpy.

"Not at the speed I think and type," Rodney retorted. "How're you feeling?" he added, belatedly remembering why he was here.

"Sore," Carson said. "And thirsty."

"I'll get one of your highly trained nurses to see to you," Rodney responded with a grin, and disappeared for a moment. He returned quickly with one of the promised nurses, and some ice cubes.

"Better," Carson said.

"How'd we get back?" Carson asked his friend.

"I managed to get the 'Gate working, so we were able to get you back quickly," Rodney said.

"Thanks," Carson replied.

"Think nothing of it," Rodney responded, putting a hand on his friend's sleeve, a slightly embarrassed expression on his face. "I couldn't let you die on me, could I?"

"Thanks, anyway," Carson said, smiling as he settled down to sleep again.

oOoOoOo

When John arrived, Carson was sitting up in his bed, eating some of the food John was usually served when he was recovering in the Infirmary.

"I recommend the potatoes," he said, by way of greeting.

Carson grinned. "I'll bow to your superior knowledge," he replied.

"How you doing, Doc?" he asked, studying his friend's face. There were still tired circles under the doctor's eyes, and his face was still paler than it should be.

"I'm doing better," Carson replied. "I really am," he reiterated, as John looked slightly doubtful. "I'll not be back on my feet for a wee while, but at least I'm alive."

"And so am I, thanks to you," John said. "If you'd not used your crutch on Valuk, you might have needed to dig a bullet out of me."

"I just wanted to save myself some work," Carson replied, with a gentle grin.

"Thanks anyway, Doc," John said with a smile.

"Your welcome, son," Carson replied.

"Yes thank you, Carson," Teyla said from the doorway. "You are a brave man, my friend."

Carson blushed, which was very evident against his pale skin. John grinned in response.

"Och," he said. "I just did what I had to do, lass. You'd all do the same for me."

"True," Ronon said, joining Teyla, who turned round to glower at him. "But we didn't have two broken knees to contend with," the Satedan added hastily.

Carson laughed, still embarrassed. "Just some thrawn Scottish bloody-mindedness."

"He's speaking a foreign language again," Rodney said, joining them with a tray of food in his hands.

"And what's that?" John asked.

"Food!" Rodney replied, obviously. "I didn't want Carson to have to eat alone."

"Good idea," Ronon said, grinning. He leaned over and took a handful of French fries from Rodney's plate.

"Hey," Rodney exclaimed. "I have to keep my strength up."

"All that typing can be exhausting," John drawled.

"And who saved the day on Batak?" Rodney demanded.

"That would be Carson, I think," John responded, grinning.

"Other than him," Rodney said dismissively. "He only saved your life. I got the 'Gate working so we could all get home."

"Don't worry, Rodney," said Carson, soothingly. "We all know you're a hero."

"Yeah," John replied. "At least in his own mind."

They all laughed, except Rodney, who huffed for a moment, and then settled down to eat his food with great gusto.

"Well, at least I can manage to dress myself in the morning, unlike some military personnel," the scientist retaliated, with a pointed glance down at John's socks, which weren't matching.

"Yes, it's good to be home," Carson said, with a slightly sardonic look. "I missed all that love and friendship."

Everyone laughed.


End file.
